Vending-machine.



v1m I. SH'BBHAN.

VBNDING MAQHINE. l APPLIQAITION FILED MAR.4,1911.

K Patented sept. 17,1912

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lfwl..

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N. I. SHEEMN.'

VENDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED HAB.. 4, 1911.

laten'ed Sept. l?, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

25.@ hi@ M l N. I. SHEEHAN.

VBNDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1 011. l903,6 Patented Sept. 17, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

www@ zmm fthe'fcarrers are simultaneonsl actuated the y 1 nuts, candy or any other articles of regular NICHOLAS I. SHEEHAN cierren or ranno/"oon, omo.

WENDINGMNMJHZNE.

filpecillcaton of Lltld Application filed March 4,

'To all wlw/m, t may concern.' 4

Be it known that l, N'iciioLAe l.. HAN, a citizen of the United' States, residI ing at Lakewood, in the county of Cuyaboga and State of Uhio, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovement in Vendingdnlachines, of which the following` is a f'ull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to vending machinos, and has for one of its, objects to pri vide a`^vending machine particularly adapt ed forf'vending loose articles, Such as peaor irregular shape and oilA uniform or varyingjsizes., and which at each operation of the machine will deliver a deinit/e number ofench articles or such a number as is do sired by the proprietor of the machine. Themacl'iine is not, however, limited inits use to the vending'of nnpackaged or loose articles.

A further object is to provide a machine of the character above indicated and Whichin addition has a very large capacity, the machine being so constructed that it may contain an exceedingly large number 'of compartments into which the articles are adapted to be placed f without requiring; a machine of large dimensions.

Still further objectdwviil appear in the Subsequent detailed description.

Une of the novel features of the present invention resides in the provision of a conf tainer and delivery mechanism including a series of superimposed earrie1's,-eacli provided with a plurality of pockets adapted to receive the articles to be vended, together with a series of bottom plates arranged bencath the carriere, and provided with diecharg'e 0pe1iinge-over which the pockets are adapted to be moved, the pockets of the carriers and the discharge openings of .the bottom plates being so arranged that 'when contentsof a pocket of the lowermost carrier will be delivered from the machine, and the contents of a pocket of'each other carrier will 'be delivered into an empty pocket of the carrier arranged beneath, the contents of each carrier being time gradually fed into the pockets of the carrier directly beneath it, and .finally into the lowermost carrier.

Preferably, the carriers are in the form of rotary Wheels attached lo-"an actuating spindle, 'and the pockets are circumjereir Lettere Patent. i lateiiied Sept. ll', MM2. i911. serial in. eiaaae.

charging into a suitable'cup or equivalent receiving device. rit each operation of the machine, the contents ol" one of the pockets ol' the lowermost wheel is discharged into the cup, but as the articles are discharged from the lowerinoet whec ','hc pockets there of are conetanlly being repleniShed or refilled by the downward feeding` of the inaterial from the pockets of the wheels above.1 ln this manner, the machine is gradually emptied from the top until the entire inuehine is emptied, the lowerinoet carrier being maintained full as longl as any of the pockets oi" thc carriers above the lowcrmost carrier renmin nnemptied. Other novel features oi' my invention re- .side in the coin controlled operating means, and will be referred to in the detailed description. l v

rlhe features above .referred 'to and other novel feati'n'es comprise my invention, which may be further b1 icly summarized as con Sistine; in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangemente oif partev which'wili be described .in 'the speciication and set Yforth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying eheets of drawings, `i"igurc l is a vertical sectional elevation of a vcndiimy machine constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan View with the cov-er removed; Fig, 3 ie a vertical sectional view of the upper portion ol" the machine including' certain portions of 'the operatingmechanism; Figyll is a horizontal sectional view vwith parte broken away lo showv the relative arrangements of the discharge openings in the varione Stationary partitions or bottom plates of' the different wheels; Fig. 5 is a frag mentary vertical Sectional view showingr particularly the manner in which the bottom plates are supported, one upon theother; Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view of a portion of the operating' mecl'mnism Show ng the pawl and ratchet which is utilized for preventing the return. of the operating handle to normal position until after the spindle and Wheel carriers attached thereto have been moved the full distance for' one operation olI the machine; and Fig. 7 is a detail view of a spring' Stop device which ie employed vfor preventingthe carriers being turned .through a greater angular distance than intended for fea-cli operation of the nia-- ti a l ly arranged., the lowerinoet Wheel chine.

. ported Within the casing is a vertical spinolle 13 to which are secured s series of carriers in the form or" Wheels 14, each having s. series of circumferentislly arranged pockets 1s in which are adapt-ed to be placed and bottom. rrenged between the divii'ei-,

the articles to be vended,rthe number of articles, (assuming that loose articles are being'vended) which are placed in each pocket dependingl upon Athe character of the articles and the number of themwhich are to be sold for a coin of the denomination for which the machine is intended. ln the present case, l have shown seven wheels, each being provided with sixteen pockets. The Wheels are sll'of the same size and thel pockets of diderent wheels are arranged directly in registra tion or in vertical alinement, for

a purpose to be referred to presently. F urthermore, the pockets are open at the top ent Wheels are stationery partitions or bottom plates 15, e'ach of which forms a bottom for the wheel arranged directly above and serves to support and maintain in the pockets the articles placed therein. 'lhese plates 15 ere supported one upon the other by means of a. series of depending supporting legs 1.5a which are located in outer sub stsntially semi-oircular ribs 10a with which. the vertical cylindrical Wall of the casing is provided, as shown in Figs. 2 and fl. Each of these stationary partitions or plates 15 is provided'with o. discharge opening or outlet 15b of substantially the shape and size et" one of the pockets, and these openings ere so arranged that as the spindle und carriers are rotated step by step, the pockets or each carrier are successively brought in alinement with the opening in the associated bottom. plate, so that the Contents of the pocketsare successively discharged through the opening into tue pockets of the carrier beneath. The openings' in the several plates 15 are relatively staggered, as indicated most clearly in Fig. et, the openings in two adjacent plates being preferably spaced spart ungu orly a. distance e ual to the Width of two pockets. At the ottoln of the casing is s delivery cup 16 which communicates with an opening 10" in the bottom plete l0C of the cusing, thisnopening lll preferably corresponding 1n size and dimensions with the openings in the several ,'fiurtitions 15. Assuming' that the machine is filled or loaded, itihe carriers are turned one step, that is it they are turned through :irc equal lo the width oi one of the pockets, the contents oi' one pocket oi' the heath.

lowermost carrier will be discharged intothe cup 16, and at the same time a loaded or filled pocketof each of the carriers ll above the lowermost carrier will bebrought over the opening 15D in the associated plate d-v rectly beneath, so that the contents of one pocket of each of said carriers Will be transferred to an empty pocket of the carrier be- Consequently, after this operation of the machine, all the carriers ,except the uppermost are in the Vsame condition as prior to the vending operation, thatis, they contain exactly the same number of filled or loaded pockets, but the uppermost lcarrier now has one more empty pocket than it Ahad previous to the operation. As themachine is operated repeatedly, step by step,

the uppermost carrier is gradually emptied, l

but the carriers beneath the uppermost carrier remain filled until the contents ofnll the pockets of the uppermost carrier have been discharged through the opening of the upper plate 15. gradually emptied from the top, the uppermost carrier being first emptied, the second carrier from the top being next emptied, etc., until the entire machine is emptied. The pockets of the' loivermost carrier are replenished until no more material can be fed into the pockets of this carrier by the carrier directly above it.

The machine can be filled by placing the desired numberof articles to be vended in the pockets of the uppermost carrier and then' by turning the spindle yund carriers these articles will be fed downward into the' pockets of the carriers beneath. By contin` uing in this manner until 'the articles are The machine is therefore discharged into the delivery cup, the' ma- ,v

yWhen a connection is established by a coin.

with the spindle 13, to turn the spindle and the carriers 14 through an angular distance equal to the Width of one pocket. This ilo lever preferably rests upon a spider 18,

which loosely engages the spindle 13 and is supported by depending legs 18a in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5. .Arranged above the operating lever 17 is an "inclined coinl` chute 19 having an inlet opcningrlfla on the exterior of. the casing, and :1t its inner. lower end a discharge opening 19D. Secured to the shaft 13 is s Wheel 2O having n series 'isoaacaa moved beneath the lowerdischarge opening I wheels.

i 191 of the coin chute, the slots being brought successively in alineinent with this opening' 19". These coin receiving slots 20a oi a size such. as to receive a coin of the proper denomination, say,-a penny, and are shaped so that the coins niaypass loosely throgh the slots. A coin passing "rein the chute into aV slot of the wheel 20 is designed to drop and to rest temporarily uponv 'a plate 21 arranged beneath a portion of the wheel 20, and finally after the Wheel 20 has been `given a number of successive 1novements the coin will move beyond the plate :21 and will drop into a suitable coin receptacle 22, the manner in which the coin dro from the chute into the slot 20a beneat 1 the chute opening being illustrated in Fig. 1 and the manner in which the coin is eventually dropped into the coin receptacle. being shown in Fig. 3.

The lever 17 is designed to he moved manually toward the left of the perison. operating the machine or a clockwise direction the full length of a stroke, so as to turn the spindle and article carrying Then when released by the open ator, itis designed to be returned toits normal position or to be moved in a clockwise direction toits initial position by a spring Q3, the spring haifingj one end connected to the lever and its opposite end connected to a ratchet plate 24e, to be hereinafter referred to. It the lever is in its normalfp'osition when the coin is' inserted in the chute7 the coin will drop directly into one et the slots 20 onto the, plate 2i, alongside of the lever 17 so that the lower pon tion of the coin Will project in the path of the lever. Therefore when the coin 'is in the position shown in Fig. 1, and when thciever is moved-in a clockwise direction to actuate 4.5 the carriers, this coi-n forms a driving con nection between the lever and the Wheel Q0 and consequently the spindle 13.

It' the operator should move thehlever 1! a dist-ance less than the full stroke, and' the spring were allowed to retract the lever after this partial movement, it will be seen that the article carrying4 Wheels would not be moved throughV the desired are and conn sequently the Wheels would be brought to rest with the pockets lei ont of alineinent with the openings 15" in the plates 15. To avoid such an occurrence, l have provided means whereby the lever 17 cannot he retracted t0 its normal position by the spring until after it has been given its full n1ovement in a clockwise direction against the tension ot the spring, and l hare also provided, means tor preventing a coin dropping into a. slot 20a of the coin Wheel 20 until after the lever 17 has been moved its 'full dis tance to the left, and then has been retract ed it.C full distance to the right. lo Vprevent the lever being; retracted to the right by the spring 22:3 before it has liceo moved the full distance. against the action ot the spring or to the lett, l. provide on. the ratchet plate 2-1, a series of ratchet teeth lit., (see particularly Figs. 2 and G) with the teeth projecting away #from the spring, as indicated in Fig. ti. l also provide on the lever so as to cooperate with these ratchet teeth, a pavvl 24, which when the lever moved to the lett passes :Freely over the teeth, trut if the .lever is stopped in its movement be tore the end of the normal sti-olie` said pawl will catch in the teeth and prevent the lever being; returned to its initial position. At the tiro ends of the ratchet are (awnings 2i and 2id in which the paw] is designed to drop when the lever has reached the ends of itsmovements in both directions. Consequently, when the leveris moved its full distance to the left, the pawi drops into the opening* 2id and then the spring can retract the lever for the reason that the parel will then ride freely over the teeth, and 'when the lever is moved by the spring the tall. distance to the right, the pawl drops into the opening 2e and its position is then re versed so that the opposite face ot the pawl will ride over the teeth, in a manner such that if the lever is stopped in come positii'in between the openings 211C and 21112 the pawl Will prevent 'the `retraction of the lever until the paia/l is pern'iitted to drop into the @pinning-Qel.Ad and reverse its position.

To prevent the coin dropping tl'irongh the discharge opening 19" of the coin chate, it the lever 17 is lett in an intermediate for sition, l have provided on the lever 11 a plate 255 with a portion projecting in a plane just'beneatli the discharge' opening of the chute. This plate is so shaped that in all positions of the lever, except its normal or retracted position, the plate will close the discharge opening ot the chute, hat when the 'lever is in its normal retracted position, the plate 25 is moved beyond the opening 19h so as not to interfere with the .coin dropping into a slot 20 oit' the Wheel 20.

To prevent the carrying Wheels la carl rying over or being moved through a' greater are than desired, such as 'might occur if the lever 1'4" be"given a very quick stroke in the clockwise direction, i" have provided a stop which in this ease consiste or a airing' or yieldable member 'which at one end 1s attached 4to the spider prem viously referred to, and has portion erw jecting laterally beneath a rearward est tenson 1T of the att'.nitii'ilirl lever 1l. The

tree end ot the :spring is inclined upwardly into the nath oi' this eirtension 12'5 oi the lerer and the spring; is also provided with a. depending linger t which normally clearc ico the top or the uppermost Wheel 14, hut which when the extension 17a of the lever strikes ,the inclined portion of the spring 2G, is `pressed downward into the path of one et the side Walls of the pocket of the uppermoet wheel. Of course, when the lever is retracted to normal position,- the spring returns to its normal position, and the linger 2G rises to the position best shown in Fig. 3.

I am aware of the fact that it has been proposed to provide a vending machine with a sinvlecarrier constructedl somewhat as one of the carriers of my vending machine, and provided .with pockets which are adapted to receive articles Which are delivered into a discharge opening of a suitahle receptacle. I am also aware of the fact that it has been proposed to provide a vending machine with a series of carriers having circumerentially arranged pkets adapted to receive articles which are designed to he delivered through separate outlet openings or discharge chutes, or through a single discharge chute, the articles, however, in one carrier always discharging clear 0l' and -independent of the other carriers. However, as far as I am aware, it is novel with me to provide a vending machine with a plurality of superimposed carriers, and bottom plates provided with openings, the Whole being so arranged that the contents of the pockets of one carrier will discharge into empty pockets of the Wheel beneath, and lto pass eventually from Wheel to Wheel so as to ll and to maintain full the pockets of the lowermost wheel. rl`his I consider one of the most important features of my invention. A

Having thus describedA my invention, what l claim is:

.1.. in vending machine, a casing pro :measles vided .with a vertical spindle therein, a pluralit'y of carriers secured to the spindle and arranged one above the other in different horizontal planes, each carrier being r0- vided with a plurality o circumferentlally spaced pockets, each having upri ht inclosing side Walls and being open at t e bottom, a stationary horizontal bottom plate beneath each of the carriers and normally maintaining the articles to be vended in `the pockets, there being a discharge opening be- 'neath the lowermost carrier and the dil'erent bottom plates above the lowermost car- Tie'r, each having a discharge opening which is arranged in staggered relation to the adjacent discharge openings.

2. In a vending machine, a casing provided with a vertical spindle arranged centrally thereof, a plurality of carriers secured to the spindle and arranged one above the other in diilierent horizontal planes, each carrier having a plurality of circumferentially arranged pockets provided with upright side Walls and open at the bottom, stationary 'horizontal partitions arranged between the carriers and constituting bottom plates for the pockets thereof, there being beneath the lowermost carrier a dis- .charge opening and the ditl'erent partitions having discharge openings each of which is spaced ciroumferentially from the openings of the adjacentpartitions an angular distance equal substantially to twice the Width of a pocket.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature 'in the presence of two witnesses.

`Witnesses H. R. SULLIVAN,- A. F. Kwis. 

